Ghosts of the Mind
by RoswlFreak03
Summary: post-ATY: Sydeny helps Vaughn after the events in Tai-Pai
1. Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them, and I'll return them when I'm through. well everyone but Vaughn ;) Rating: PG-13 Category: S/V shippyness and some drama as well Notes: This story takes place post-season finale (yes.another one of those stories)  
  
"Mr. Tippin, I think you will be much more comfortable if you would allow me give you some pain medication. I've been in your situation before, I know it must still be hurting." Jack held the small pills in his hand that he had retrieved from the first aid kit.  
  
Will shook his head, still not comprehending much of what was going on. "No, no more drugs. No more, no more." Jack looked at the poor boy and couldn't help but feel bad for him. Just being Sydney's friend had cost him so much already. But, he had offered to help, there was little else he could do until he was back in the states where he could receive proper medical attention.  
  
Jack looked anxiously at his watch. "Something went wrong, they are well over their meeting time. Listen, Mr. Tippin, I'm going to have to leave you here in the car while I go in and find Sydney. Do you think you can stay here and not move until I come back?"  
  
"No, no way. I don't want to be alone. Please, let me help. I can help." For the first time since he had seen Will, his eyes lit up in a wild frenzy.  
  
"Are you feeling up to it?" Jack didn't need any more problems, but he figured that Will might feel better knowing that he had helped in any trivial way.  
  
Nodding his head, Will replied anxiously "Yeah, I mean yes. Most of my body is still in shock and my mouth and arms hurt more than words can express, but I can do whatever you need me to do. I want to help, especially if it means getting Sydney out safe."  
  
"Ok, this is how we'll do it."  
  
*** Sydney slowly came out of her unconscious state. All she could remember was her mot.Irena telling her about waiting 30 years for this. 30 years to finish what she had started all those years ago. Sydney had begun to wonder if she had made up all those memories of the mother she had once known and loved. Maybe the entire mental image she used to keep so sacred in her heart was all just a dream. How could she have not sensed her evilness as a child?  
  
It was the thick metal needle being sunk into her skin that broke Sydney from her mental chiding. From there on all she felt was the blackness that had begun to engulfed her.  
  
Now that the drugs were beginning to wear off, she wondered where her mother had gone. Off to her side, she heard the small beeping sound that was actually quite soft, but in Sydney's mind it sounded like a jackhammer pounding into cement pavement. Her arms were still handcuffed to the uncomfortable chair, and she could still taste the blood on her lips from when she fought off the guard and watched Vaughn slip away from her. The memory of his eyes on her, telling her to get away and run would forever haunt her memory.  
  
"Stop the beeping." her eyes flickered open as she saw the small black box sitting by her side, slowly ticking from 1:59. 1:58..1:57. "Shit" She cursed under her breath. Now fully awake, she struggled as hard as she could to release herself from her bondage. Using her tricks of the trade that she had learned along the way, she disjointed her arm and wrist and slipped out from the cuffs. She didn't even bother to try and disengage the bomb, knowing she didn't have the proper wire cutters to do so.  
  
Running as fast as her legs would take her, Sydney soon found herself in the same corridors that she was earlier in with Vaughn. She didn't see a soul in sight as she noticed that all the electronical doors were now open.  
  
She knew that had only about a minute before the explosive would detonate and blow the building to pieces. However she couldn't stop herself from walking on the puddled floors, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she would find Vaughn, safe and alive, with that goofy grin on his face waiting for her. Sydney mentally chided herself for being an eternal dreamer.  
  
She yelled "Vaughn" knowing that in return she would only hear the familiar sound of her echoed voice. But that didn't stop her from trying.  
  
At the other end of one of the seemingly endless corridors, she saw a small black spot. She ran to it, hoping for it to be some small part of Vaughn. As she ran, she couldn't help think that her selfishness in finding her mother had brought him here, and it got him killed. After all the things he had done for her, she still wanted more. 'I'm so ungrateful, I should be in his place' her mind raced with expletives for herself.  
  
The black object turned out to be one of Vaughn's black shoes. Slowly she bent over and cradled it in her fingers, tears brimming around her eyes as she bit her quivering bottom lip.  
  
And it was then that she saw him. Out of the corner of her eye, up against the wall of the juxtaposed hall. She sprinted over and saw his lifeless body, she noticed his hair was still wet and quickly tried to think how long she could have been unconscious and drugged for.  
  
Grabbing his arm and one of his legs she was able to swing him over her shoulders. She didn't know whether he was alive or not. She didn't care. She had Vaughn, and if he were infact dead, he didn't deserve to be blown to pieces by a bomb. He deserved a proper funeral with friends, family, loved ones. With only around a half of a minute left she needed to find and exit and get the hell out of there, or else both of them were going to have caskets filled with bricks and weights. 


	2. To pieces

Sydney ran through what seemed like a maze of hallways and doors. Trying to figure out if there was exits anywhere near her.  
  
"Sydney!" A voice boomed from behind her. She turned and looked to see her father. She saw that he was about to ask something, probably something about the lifeless Vaughn that was slung over her shoulder. "There's a bomb, its going to explode in seconds, we need to get out of here."  
  
She followed as her father a few steps to a door that was well hidden on the side of one of the labs. There is an exit in this room. Jack grabbed the walkie-talkie from his pocket "We're on our way out, get to the car."  
  
***  
  
"Take this" Jack shoved a black walkie-talkie into Will's hand.  
  
Will accepted it graciously. "You know, I used to have one of these when I was a kid, I used to play all -"  
  
"Mr. Tippin"  
  
"It's Will! Not Mr. Tippin."  
  
"This is not some cops and robbers game we're playing. You have absolutely no field experience and if you enter the building, you become an even bigger liability to us all. You're going to stand over there next to the doorway, and if you see anybody coming towards you, you go hide in those bushes over there, and you tell me about the people coming in. I need you to be my watchman. Understand."  
  
"Yes, I do sir." Will could hear the desperation in his voice. He knew that he was worried about his daughter. After all this time Jack really did care for Sydney. Will mentally cursed his bad habit of making light in times of seriousness.  
  
He watched Jack go into the building, and he did as he was told. He watched and looked as nobody came into his view. He sighed as he secretly prayed for Sydney to be ok.  
  
***  
  
"Copy that" a voice said on the other end of the coms.  
  
"Was that Will? He's ok?" Sydney felt a wave of relief rush upon her as she realized her friend was ok and that he was safe.  
  
Reaching the car outside, Jack flew into the drivers seat while Sydney laid Vaughn down so his head would be resting in her lap as Will sat on the other site of her. She gave Will a sympathetic smile as she saw how extensive his bruises were. "I'm so sorry" She spoke softly. Will was preoccupied with trying to figure out who this mysterious guy was who Sydney so conveniently place into her lap.  
  
Sydney trailed her fingers down along Vaughn's neck, finding a right spot. Her fingers tingled on top of his skin and she wished that she were trailing her fingers along his body under different circumstances.  
  
As Jack drove furiously down the road, Will and Sydney looked back quickly at the building that was now shattering to the ground in a ball of flame and particles.  
  
"Sydney, is he." Jack fished for an answer, not wanting to come out and ask if Vaughn was dead.  
  
"I have a pulse!" She said in a sigh of relief. "It's faint, but it's there. He needs a hospital, he was underwater a long time."  
  
Jack swerved the car onto a main highway road that Sydney recognized as the one that would lead them to the airport. "What happened to you two?" 


	3. Anything but peaceful

Sydney looked down and watched Vaughn's chest ever so slightly rise and fall. She never thought that she would ever see him breathe again. She relished in the delight it gave her. However she prayed to every higher power that he would just regain consciousness and open his eyes. She longed to see his sparkling green eyes once again look into hers. She knew that he needed to go to a hospital, but Jack had stated earlier that the hospitals here could not be trusted. Vaughn needed a certified CIA hospital where he could be protected and treated properly.  
  
Sydney began to fulfill her fathers request and told the story of what had happened. "The plan was working fine for awhile. We got into the club with ease and made our way through the crowd."  
  
***  
  
Sydney smirked as she saw felt Vaughn's arms pushing away the creep who was trying to hit on her. For a brief moment in time, Vaughn was able to protect her in such a way that every boyfriend would protect his girlfriend. Every guy in the room was Vaughn's enemy, and she loved it.  
  
***  
  
Will was now listening intently to Syd's conversation with Jack. It were as if the blinders had been taken off, and for the first time he was seeing the world in which is friend had been involved in for years.  
  
"Vaughn went and scrambled the audio/visual security cameras while I went into the room that held The Circumference. It was huge, I mean, the one I saw last year was so tiny, and this one colossal. I knew that I would have to run fast to make it out of there before the water hit me. So, as planned, I set the explosive after fighting off some of the guards and made it out of the room. And then he came. I don't know why, but he was running down the hallway towards me, and the gushing water that was chasing me stunned him. He was dumbfounded for those vital seconds. I pulled him out of it, but he couldn't keep up with me. There was a door at the end of one of the hallways, and it was closing. I barely made it in the door, and I pulled as hard as I could, but I couldn't hold it open." Fresh tears began to run down her cheeks as she relived one of the many horrific moments of her life. "Dad it was horrible, I watched as the water surrounded him, I saw him take his last breath, and I tried and tried to break the glass with a fire extinguisher, but the door was too strong and it wouldn't break. I saw him motion for me to leave, but he risked his life for me, the least I could do was try and save him." The tears continued streaming down her cheeks.  
  
Jack kept his stern face looking out towards the road. "Well, when you report back to Devlin you had better not get this emotional."  
  
"But dad, this wasn't a CIA mission. You know Vaughn and I weren't even supposed to be here."  
  
"They're going to know, if they don't already, that we exchanged the Rambaldi documents for him. There is no way to avoid that knowledge coming into light. Devlin's going to want a step by step account of what happened. And there already are going to be suspicions as to why Mr. Vaughn would break protocol to help you. If you don't want to have a new handler assigned, I suggest that you pull yourself together by the time we reach the states." His hands gripped the steering wheel as he turned the car on a road that Sydney recognized as the one that lead to the airport where the scheduled plane would be waiting. For the rest of the car ride, Sydney told her father what had happened with her meeting with Irena. She preferred not to use the terminology of "mother".  
  
While they entered the plane's cargo area, Jack carried Vaughn in and placed him on a hospital stretcher while strapping him in so he wouldn't move around much.  
  
Sydney grasped Will's hand tightly as they boarded the plane. "I'm so sorry Will. This is my entire fault, I should have told you, and I should have made sure you had nothing to do with SD-6. I'm so sorry you had to go through what you did." Sydney could see that he was still in pain, but she felt proud at how well he was handling it. She had been in his place before and it was not a place she liked to be.  
  
He gave her a reassuring smile. "Syd this isn't your fault. I chose to keep on the story of SD-6. It was my absurd determination to crack the case that got me to where I was. I'm all right, and you're all right, and your friend is alive. So it wasn't the worst case scenario."  
  
Will saw that look in Sydney's eyes. It was the look she got whenever her friend or "handler" was mentioned. He had no idea what a handler was, but he wasn't too keen on the guy. Sydney's eyes seemed to sparkle a little when he was mentioned. He noticed it the past few months, but didn't know what it meant until now.  
  
Sydney's lips trembled slightly. "I'm so worried for him. He shouldn't be here, he shouldn't have come. If he had stuck to CIA policy, he would be home right now, safe. I'm so worried about him. If he doesn't come out of this, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll be lost." Sydney stared blankly at Jack as he made sure that Vaughn was safe enough.  
  
"You'll still have me. I'll always be here for you." Will gave Sydney a reassuring hug. He knew that whatever bond she and this Vaughn had was not one that he could likely break. He had been wishing for so long that Sydney would someday return his affections, but now he realize that he could settle for being just a friend. Besides, she was going to need his friendship now more than ever. He was still curious as to who this Vaughn guy really was. But he felt that now was not the time to start asking question about him.  
  
On the flight back, Sydney sat holding Vaughn's hand the entire time. She barely ever took her eyes off of him. Thinking that maybe if she turned away, when she looked back he would be gone and she would realize that it was all a dream and that he was really gone.  
  
Several times she thought she felt his hands move slightly. But she saw no signs of change in his face or hands, so she passed it off as wishful thinking.  
  
The only sound the three of them heard was the sounds of the engine humming. Sydney's thoughts focused mainly on what she would tell the CIA when she got back and to Vaughn's smooth hand that was place firmly in hers. Will endlessly soaked in all that had happened to him the past few days. And Jack thought of the fact that his former wife had tried to kill their own daughter by drugging her and placing her next to a ticking bomb. The plane ride was very quiet, however it was anything but peaceful. 


	4. Questionnaire

The plane soon landed. Jack put in a few phone calls, one for a CIA ambulance and another one to Devlin.  
  
"Will, you're going to go with my dad. He'll drive you home." Jack saw that Sydney wanted a moment alone with Will, so he began walking towards his black sedan.  
  
"So what happens now?" He furrowed his brow and tried to read her expression. He used to think he could read both Francie and Sydney well by the look in their eyes. Now he questioned which way was up.  
  
"I'll probably stay at the hospital most of the night. I owe Vaughn that much." Will nodded his head. "Then I'll probably head home. I still have a few days before I have to report back to SD-6. If you want, maybe we can do something one of these days. Francie, you, and I. We can go bowling, remember those weekly bowl nights we used to do?" Syd had hoped this would bring some light to his eyes, but it was no use.  
  
Once upon a time, Will wanted to spend as much time as he could with Sydney. Any day or night that she was willing to spend time with him, he gladly accepted. Now everything was different. Sydney was different. "Yeah sure, sounds like fun." He just had to get to know this new Sydney.  
  
Sydney wrapped her arms firmly around her friend's neck as he wrapped his arms around her small waist. "Take care Will. If you need anything or just want to talk, you call me. I'm still me Will. You know you can talk to me about anything."  
  
"I know" He smiled as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek just as the ambulance drove up into the parking lot.  
  
They stood their for a few minutes as they both watched the paramedics get out of the vehicle. "Sydney Bristow?" One of the men asked.  
  
"That's me."  
  
"Hi, I'm Fred Siles. I'm friends with Michael." Sydney and Fred both looked over as Fred's two partners placed Vaughn on a buckled gurney and slid him into the back of the ambulance. "I haven't talked to him in about a month, but last I did talk to him, he mentioned you. I could tell the way he talked that he has a lot of respect for you Agent Bristow. He loved working with you. I promise, we're going to do all we can to make sure he regains consciousness."  
  
"Thank you" She said weakly. Sydney's throat dried at the sight of such a helpless Vaughn.  
  
Will looked over at Jack and saw that he was clearly agitated waiting so long. "I think your father wants to get going. I'll see you." He flashed her a sympathetic smile as he ran to the car. The words "Agent Bristow. Agent Bristow. Agent Bristow" rang continuously in his head. She wasn't just Miss Bristow. She was Special Agent Sydney Bristow, Government Issue.  
  
Sydney spent the ride to the hospital holding Vaughn's hand and trying to hold her own tears back. She answered endless questions about what had happened. How long had he been without oxygen? Was he at all conscious when she found him? Did she use CPR on him? She thought that the questioning would never end.  
  
The paramedic looked grimly at Sydney. "Miss Bristow." He trailed off, waiting for Sydney to take her eyes off of Vaughn. "We still need a doctors opinion, but based on all information that you've told me, and due to the amount of time he's been unconscious for already. I'd say that if he doesn't wake up within the next 12 hours, we can assume that the chances of him ever waking up are slim to none. We still have yet to determine if he has suffered any brain damages.  
  
Vaughn, brain damage, never waking up, hospital, unconscious. All of this was a blur to Sydney. This is Vaughn we're talking about. Picture frame, pier, holding hands, eye contact, Joey's Pizza, friend. These were the words that described Vaughn. Not unconscious with possible brain damage. 


	5. Babies and bad news

Sydney aimlessly walked around the halls of the hospital. It was 3am and still she hadn't received word from the doctor. The last time she slept was when she was unconscious in Tai-Pei, with Irina. However she managed to push all thoughts of her so-called mother out of her head and refocused her thoughts on Vaughn.  
  
She found herself passing the maternity ward. She saw one mother-to-be being wheeled into a room in a wheelchair. She had obviously just gone into labor. Her husband was right beside her, holding her hand. Sydney's heart ached for that to be her. She pictured herself pregnant with Vaughn holding her hand as she passed the stages of contractions. She imagined a little girl with his sparkling green eyes and his heart-melting smile. The image of Vaughn holding their precious baby and smiling to her seemed so real that she felt compelled to go watch the newborns.  
  
Sydney laughed at how the babies amused themselves by playing with their fingers and their toes. They were so innocent and had no idea of the danger that the world held. Their only concern was their next feeding.  
  
She was so into the newborn babies that she was startled when her pager finally went off. She flew down the hallway and down the stairs to the ICU.  
  
She saw the doctor that was taking care of Vaughn talking to a few other doctors. He stopped talking as she entered into his view.  
  
"Yes, Miss Bristow." Pause. "Agent Vaughn is indeed awake." Sydney's heart lept for joy as she broke out into a wide grin. "However."  
  
Uh-oh. Sydney gulped as she braced herself. The word 'However' quickly became her new enemy.  
  
"The tests results show that the lack of oxygen did damage parts of his brain. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Mr. Vaughn is suffering from amnesia."  
  
"How extensive is the amnesia?" Sydney asked blankly.  
  
The doctor reviewed his chart momentarily, making sure he had all the facts. "Pretty extensive. He doesn't know where he's from, what his name is. He doesn't know his phone number, friends, or relatives. Although, he does still have the memory of ordinary things, such as the ABC's, counting, being able to read, walking, simple things like that."  
  
"Do you think it's likely that he'll regain his memory?"  
  
The doctor smile weakly. "We have every reason to believe that with time, he will remember. We're hoping for the best, but there is still the possibility of the worst case scenario that he won't regain it. But from his tests and charts, it seems likely."  
  
Sydney was thankful for small favors. "Is there anything to do that will speed up the process?"  
  
"His family and friends are going to be the biggest asset. I'll inform his CIA director about his condition personally. Obviously he won't be able to work for some time. But, it would help bringing him to places that hold some meaning, like his office, and especially his house. Does he live alone?"  
  
"Yes, from what I know, he does."  
  
"Well then I suggest that I call a visiting nurse to spend time with him during the day, watch him incase he slips up, or breaks down. He can't remember anything, which is going to be extremely frustrating for him. He's going to have moments of extreme anger and rage at not being able to know things. I can give him a prescription that can help with these moments." The doctor began writing on a piece of paper.  
  
She thought for a moment "Doctor, the visiting nurse really isn't necessary. I'll stay with him. I don't want some stranger with him. I'm hoping the more time that he has with familiar faces and surroundings the sooner he'll get better."  
  
The doctor smiled "I was hoping you'd say that. Well, I would like to keep him until morning for observations, but around noontime you can pick him up to go home. If you want, you can go in to see him now." He knew that would be the next question out of her mouth. Sydney was grateful at not wasting another minute talking.  
  
She walked down the hall until she saw door number 401. The same number the nurse had told her as Vaughn's room. She inhaled deeply as she entered the room, she had prepared herself for the worst, but this was beyond that. 


	6. Visiting hours

Sydney stepped into the doorway of Vaughn's room. She saw him looking through a manila envelope. She guessed it was information about him, to help him remember. The hardest part was that he looked just the same. His skin had paled marginally, but Sydney brushed it off as the strong fluorescent lighting in the hospitals. He still looked sexy, even in the blue pinstriped hospital gown. That definitely should not have been turning her on.  
  
He hadn't yet noticed her, and therefore didn't see her eyes trailing up and down his body. She noticed how he his fingers lightly turned the pages and how he furrowed his brow trying to comprehend everything that he was reading.  
  
He heard the floor creak and looked up to see a gorgeous brunette watching him. 'Please let this be my wife.' He thought sheepishly. But then he remembered reading the part about him being a single white male. 'Girlfriend maybe?'  
  
"Hi..." He said, hoping to catch the name of this beauty.  
  
"Sydney. Sydney Bristow." He could tell she was a little in awe and unsure of how to approach the situation. The doctor hadn't told him that he should expect any visitors so he was clueless.  
  
"I feel like I should introduce myself, but you already know who I am. You probably know more about me than I do." Sydney smiled at the lightness. 'At least he hasn't lost his charm.'  
  
"Yeah, I probably do. I guess I should explain how I know you."  
  
"That might help."  
  
Sydney smiled, remembering their first meeting.  
  
***  
  
"I'm not trying to play you"  
  
"Yeah, we'll see about that."  
  
For the first time she saw his heart-melting smirk. "I have an instinct."  
  
***  
  
Sydney pulled a chair up to his bed and sat down. "Well, for starters we work together. I actually work for you in a way. You're my handler in the CIA. But you're also my friend, one of my best. We've worked together for about a year now."  
  
"So we work together, but I'm in charge of you, ok... But we're also friends which means that we're not."  
  
"No! Um, no. We never. were romantically involved."  
  
"Do I have a girlfriend I should know about, because it's not here in the chart?" Vaughn said, cross checking his personals.  
  
"Not at the moment, at least not one that I know about."  
  
"And we never dated?" Vaughn was having a hard time believing that he wouldn't have made a move on Sydney in a year.  
  
Sydney was amusing and mildly embarrassed by his pushing of the dating. "You see Va-Michael, there are rules that the CIA has. And one of them is fraternization among co-workers. It's a very bad idea for two agents to get involved romantically because then they get questioned, and they make sure you don't work together. It's frowned upon very heavily. And we both knew that I needed you. You have helped me in more ways than I can express. Had it not have been for you, I wouldn't be sitting here right now and I wouldn't have been so successful." Sydney pushed back the tears. She needed to be brave for his sake.  
  
Vaughn didn't know how to respond to that. How do you handle that not knowing who you are or whom you're talking too? 'Why can't I just remember!' His mind screamed at him.  
  
Sydney could tell she had made him uncomfortable by getting that emotional. He didn't understand. And the one person she really needed to talk to right now was the one person that she couldn't. "Well I had better get going. You should rest."  
  
"Wait. Are you going to visit again?"  
  
She nodded "Yeah, I should be here around noon to pick you up to bring you home. I'll actually be staying with you, helping you to remember and such."  
  
"Oh, the CIA is going to allow that?"  
  
"Their going to have no choice. I really better be going though. I'm surprised the doctor let me see you this late and stay this long. I'll be seeing you soon."  
  
"Bye Sydney." He called her Sydney, not Syd. Sydney was so formal for Vaughn to say that. He only said her full name in times of anger, frustration, or when he needed to be formal. Sydney shook her thoughts away. Right now she needed to be focusing on how she was going to explain her absence from SD-6 and avoid having them catch her with Vaughn. And also how to avoid the sharp objects her father was going to throw after she tells him that she volunteered to be Vaughn's babysitter the next week or so. She was not looking forward to this morning. 


	7. Black coffee morning

Sydney sat in a chair in the local coffee shop. It was just approaching 6am. She got around 2 and half hours of sleep that night. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts that bounced from Vaughn, Sloane, her father, SD-6, Francie, Will, and then back to Vaughn.  
  
As she sipped her black coffee her mind kept going over the same 'what ifs'. What if she hadn't accepted Vaughn's help? What if she could just let her mother go and accept the fact that she is really dead in her heart? What if she had pushed Vaughn to run faster? In a thousand different ways she blamed herself for Vaughn's current state.  
  
She had figured out her story. She knew it was a huge chance, being with Vaughn at his place. It was hard enough to set up undisclosed meetings with him, now she was going to be spending all of his time at his house, with him openly. Not only was she putting herself in danger, but she was also putting him in more danger. However, Sydney could not get the image of Vaughn's innocent eyes trying to read hers. He used to be a very good reader of her. He could always tell when something was the matter with her. He knew when a mission had gone wrong. She loved how he understood her without any words being spoken. And now it was as if he were a naïve child going into the big bad world. Her heart ached for him. It hurt so much she wished that she were in his place instead.  
  
She had already called her father and told him to meet him at the warehouse. Dreading this meeting with him was an understatement. He was going to be livid when he hears what she did.  
  
"Sydney, I'm glad you called, I wanted to see how Mr. Vaughn is doing. I was going to call the doctor, but I got your page first and assume this has something to do with him." Jack said, wasting no time as he entered the gated meeting place.  
  
Sydney's melancholy look was beginning to worry Jack as he saw her nervously wriggle her hands together. "It's not good dad. The doctor said that his brain was damaged from lack of oxygen." Pause "He's suffering from amnesia."  
  
His face saddened a bit "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how close you are to him."  
  
"That's not actually all." She said apprehensively.  
  
"The doctor said that he needs to be supervised 24/7 in his home environment. For when he has his bad moments of frustration and panic. I couldn't just let some stranger ta--"  
  
"Sydney, you can't! No, that's the dumbest thing to ever come out of your mouth. The answer is no! He must have some relatives or friends to take care of him!"  
  
He lowered his voice marginally. "Sydney, you'd be away from work for weeks"  
  
"One week.maybe two"  
  
"How are you going to explain this to Sloane? How will you explain this to your friends without them getting suspicious? Sydney the risks here are extremely high."  
  
Sydney dropped her eyes to the floor. "But it's my fault he's in the condition he is. Dad, I couldn't let some stranger or unknowing family member take care of him when it's my fault he has amnesia in the first place. He was trying to help me by coming with me."  
  
Jack took one step closer towards Sydney. "Sydney, he knew the risks he was taking. He went despite them. I'm sure he wouldn't blame you in any way for what happened. It's not your fault."  
  
"I'm just going to tell Sloane that one of my friends from college is getting married in Boston and I'm a bridesmaid. I'll just need a week or two off. That should cover Sloane and SD-6 and I'll simply tell Francie that you're going out of town for a few weeks and there have been multiple burglaries in your area and you want me to stay at your place to make sure the place is being lived in."  
  
"Please Sydney, take a moment and acknowledge the risks!" Jack needed to try one more time to reason with Sydney.  
  
But she wouldn't have it. "Dad, I have. I have thought over and over, and I know I'm doing the right thing. Vaughn needs me. I got him into this mess, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I get him out of it."  
  
"Just be careful." He turned to walk out, but stopped and turned to Sydney. "By the way, Sloane told me last that Emily has taken a turn for the worst. He's been acting rather strange and preoccupied with her at the moment. I don't think he'll think twice about it."  
  
"Sorry to hear that, I'll give him my regards when I talk to him."  
  
They exchanged good-byes and Jack left leaving Sydney with a sense of happiness. Now she just had to explain to Sloane and have a quick lunch with Francie and then she would be free to spend the next week or so with Vaughn. She just hoped she could control her own impulses when she's around him. ****************************************************************  
  
Notes: I just wanted to thank you guys SO much for the feedback. I know the first 2 chapters were a little slow, as was this chapter. But I'm getting to the good shippy stuff, I promise ( I know a lot of you said it was a little unbelievable, her being able to spend time with Vaughn, so I hoped I made it a tiny bit more believable. I've been trying to get the chapters out ASAP but I haven't been home a lot lately. I should get the next chapter out tomorrow though. Thanks again for reviewing! You guys rock ( 


	8. Approval

By 11: 45 Sydney had talked to Sloane about her leave of absence. She sensed something was off about Sloane. Not that he was usually a personable guy, but today he seemed extra distant and cold. As her father had suspected, he didn't give a second thought as to Sydney going to her friend's wedding. She had unused vacation time anyway.  
  
She had just come from an early lunch with Francie and had explained to her how her father's neighborhood was having a string of burglaries to houses where the house appeared vacant. Francie seemed a little down that she would be spending even less time with her friend, but accepted and believed Sydney's fib that she would be staying at her father's house. She then went home, packed a few bags of clothing, toiletries, and other items before setting off for the hospital.  
  
It was on the elevator ride up to the floor where Vaughn was that it fully sunk in that she was on vacation. Well, to her a vacation. No CIA or SD-6 work and missions for almost full two weeks. Sydney's mouth curled up into a little smile, but her heart sank guiltily. In pre-amnesia time, what Sydney wouldn't have given to spend a work-free week with Vaughn. Now wished that she could just meet up with him in the warehouse, have Vaughn give her the counter-mission, make the small talk that allowed then 2 minutes into each other's personal lives and then wait the remaining hours until they would see each other again.  
  
She walked down the hallway and saw Vaughn's doctor going through a patient's chart. He looked up when he heard her footsteps approaching. "Sydney, good to see you."  
  
"Same here, how's he doing today." She asked apprehensively.  
  
He gave her a small smile. "He's hanging in there. He seemed a little depressed when he woke up this morning. We noticed a fair amount of frustration when he crushed an empty can of root beer after not being able to remember if he used to like it. But other than that, he's been ok."  
  
"Can I take him home now?" Sydney wanted to get him out of the hospital as soon as possible. She figured his best chances for a recovery were if he were out of this environment.  
  
He nodded "Yes of course. Agent Weiss is in with him now. He brought him some of his own clothes to wear home since the ones he came in with were a little damaged and inappropriate."  
  
Sydney's mind giggled with perverseness at the sight of Vaughn in his leather pants and tight black shirt.  
  
"I assume you've already made arrangements with Devlin regarding yourself and Agent Vaughn?"  
  
"Yes" Sydney answered back. "I talked with him early this morning about what's going to happen the next few weeks. He wasn't pleased to say the least, but I think he understands why I have to do this."  
  
"I'm glad. I've read the basics of your history with Agent Vaughn and I do think besides a family member you are one of the key players in getting his memory back. However, we must remember, there is a chance that it will never return. There's no guarantee that it will come back, but we have the best chance by bringing him to the places and people he knows best. Now you just need to sign a few release forms and you and Agent Vaughn are free to go." The doctor once again smiled at Sydney and then walked away to check on some of his other patients.  
  
Right as Sydney was about to walk through the threshold of Vaughn's door, she saw Weiss exiting. She stepped to the side of the hallway to talk with him. "Sydney, I'm so glad your ok." Sydney and he quickly embraced. "I can't believe this happened. It seems like one minute we were arguing about pizza toppings and the next minute he doesn't even remember my name."  
  
"I know, I'm barely grasping it myself."  
  
He looked down for a minute with a pensive look on his face. "Listen, I've never been a big supporter of you two getting as romantically involved together."  
  
"Weiss, this has nothing to do with romanc--"  
  
"I know, I know. What I was trying to say is that, I'm regret ever giving Mike lip about the two of you. I'm glad that you convinced Devlin to let you do this. If anyone can help him get his memory back, It's you."  
  
"Thank you." Sydney was stunned to say the least.  
  
He nodded his head. "Well, I need to get back. Lots of files and paperwork to be done back at the office. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. I'll probably drop by though to see how things are going, try to help a bit."  
  
"Thanks Weiss. I will."  
  
Weiss left and Sydney readied herself for whatever lied ahead.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ok.I lied, not much romance here. I didn't intend to make this chapter as long as it was. I was going to make it short and include some Vaughn-time, but didn't work out that way. Again, thanks for the feedback! I am loving it, and it's because of it that I'm trying my hardest to get these chapters out ASAP. Thanks again guys, I don't think I'll have time to write another chapter tomorrow, but who knows. I will most definitely have some by Friday though. You guys rock! 


	9. Disconnected

Looking once more at the address on the sheet of paper, Sydney realized she did indeed have the right house. She had taken Vaughn's personal file and photocopied the page that listed his address.  
  
"And this is my house?" Vaughn asked, apparently not remembering any of it.  
  
Sydney nodded her head. "Apparently." Sydney had left her car at her father's house and had taken Vaughn's car that Jack had sent over to the hospital for her. She pulled the key out of the ignition and both of them opened their doors. "I'm going to grab your bag and my stuff, here's the key you can go on in."  
  
"I can carry the stuff." He protested  
  
She popped open the trunk. "Really, it's no big deal, this is nothing. Go inside."  
  
"Sydney, I have amnesia, I'm not paralyzed. I can bring in my own things." He was beginning to get annoyed at being treated like a baby.  
  
"Vaughn, go inside."  
  
"Ok, we're going to need to set some rules here."  
  
"Damn straight we are. First things first, I'm you're caretaker for the next week. So, accept it."  
  
"Don't quit your day job." He spat back.  
  
Sydney looked at him sternly. "Believe me, I couldn't even if I wanted too. You want to carry this stuff in so badly, be my guest." She dropped the luggage, bags, and medical information she was holding all to the pavement and walked coldly past him.  
  
Before Sydney was worried about controlling her sexual impulses around Vaughn, now she was just trying to control her urge to kick his ass. "He's such a jerk." She muttered as she searched through Vaughn's key chain to figure out which key unlocked the door.  
  
"Success!" She sighed triumphantly as she found the correct key. Vaughn trailed right behind her, effortlessly carrying in the stuff.  
  
"Bags for malady." He quipped.  
  
"I'm going to check out the place, you have quite a big house for one guy who spends most of his time at his office."  
  
"I have a life also you know.I think." Vaughn's try at a joke brought a smile to Sydney's lips and the spat outside was easily forgotten.  
  
Vaughn trailed Sydney around the house as she pointed out the obvious rooms, such as the laundry room, bathrooms, TV room, company room, etc. "This is without a doubt your room."  
  
"You know, this could very well be a guest room." Vaughn said, looking around at the framed autographed picture of some hockey player, a hockey stick leaning against one wall, and across the room a basketball was placed in the corner. He had a few t-shirts strewn on the hardwood flooring. "Ok, so maybe it is my room."  
  
This wasn't exactly how Sydney had pictured his room in her fantasies. Course in those, she wasn't paying too much attention to her surroundings, just the feel of his hot kisses trailing her body and the feel of his sweaty skin against hers. Sydney shook her head and scattered those thoughts away, worried that soon she would be needing a very cold shower. A shower that Vaughn used daily, washing his wet naked body. 'oh not good' Sydney chided herself at her juvenile thoughts.  
  
Sydney moved out into the hallway and opened the closed door that was directly across from Vaughn's room. "Excellent." She exclaimed. A nice, clean spare bedroom that had a bed completed with bed linens and everything. Course it was a little less inviting than Vaughn's room since the bed here was smaller than his, his bed looked softer and more comfy. But then again, Sydney passed it off as the fact that Vaughn actually slept in that bed, thus giving it all the appeal.  
  
"Sydney!"  
  
"Wh-huh?" Vaughn's words darted Sydney out of her thoughts.  
  
"You were just a million miles away from here."  
  
"Oh, sorry about that" She blushed.  
  
Sydney then followed around Vaughn, hoping that him going around would spark a memory of some sort within him. "Anything coming to you?"  
  
He looked at the photographs on the mantle in the living room. "Nothing. I feel like a ghost. Like I can look at all these pictures of myself but it's not me. I'm not that guy anymore, I'm something different. As if my brain and my heart have just completely disconnected and I can't remember anything about myself." He paused a moment. "And then there's you. I don't know you, but I feel connected to you. When I'm around you, I feel different, I can't put my finger on it. You said we have never been romantically involved but it doesn't feel that way. Maybe I'm just going crazy." He ran a hand through his hair.  
  
Smiling with tears in her eyes she took his hand in hers. "No Vaughn, you're not crazy. You are far from crazy. You're one of the most brilliant men I've ever known. But you are right about us. Come on, I want to show you something." She took his hand and dragged him out the door, vaguely hearing his soft "where are we going?" inquiries. 


	10. Moonlight memories

"Sydney, come on, you're acting crazy. Tell me where we're going." Silence. "Please?"  
  
Sydney looked away from the road for a moment and into Vaughn's pleading green eyes. "Nope. I'm hoping that you'll remember when you see it."  
  
By the time Sydney had stopped and parked the car the sun had almost completely gone down and nighttime was engulfing the atmosphere. "Ok, so let me get this straight. You drove all the way here to show me where the carnival is?"  
  
"No." She said, defeated. "The carnival is way over there. We're here, at the pier. You don't remember any of this?"  
  
Vaughn was silent as he walked over to the railing and gazed out at the calming waves in the water. This wasn't entirely new to him. He felt something.  
  
***  
  
"Michael! Look at the time! You're not seriously going to go running out of bed just because you're agent is a psycho!"  
  
"Don't call her that!" He barked. "I have to go, it's my job. She could be in trouble, she needs me." He said, grabbing his pants and his shirt.  
  
"No, I'm sick of this." His heart broke at the sight of her beginning to cry. "Michael, I'm not going to be second to this woman. I swear, sometimes I don't even know why I love you when you've obviously fallen for someone else."  
  
"Alice please. It's not like that. I love you, you know that."  
  
"I don't doubt that you love me. But answer me this one question Mike, honestly." She lowered her voice. "Are you still in love with me?" She kept her stare at the ground and when she didn't hear an answer she looked into his eyes and she knew it was over.  
  
"Allie. Alice please." He pleaded with her.  
  
"Go, go run off and be the hero we both know you are." She fixed the color of his jacket. He walked over and kissed her gently.  
  
"We'll talk when I get back." He said as he walked out the door, knowing deep down that when he got back she would have had all her stuffed packed up and would be out of there.  
  
***  
  
"Alice." He said, still staring at the water.  
  
"What?" Sydney questioned, not believing she was hearing right.  
  
"I remember, Alice. I remember the fight we had before I came here. The reason why we broke up."  
  
Sydney couldn't believe her ears. "What else, what else do you remember?" She walked over and grabbed his hand on the railing, like she did so long again that night in the same place, only this time their bodies weren't so far apart.  
  
***  
  
"I had his blood on my hands."  
  
"Sydney." He interrupted.  
  
"I feel like I'm losing my mind, like I don't know who I am anymore, or what I'm doing, or why I'm doing it..."  
  
::beep:: Vaughn watched as she took her frustration out on the innocent beeper, throwing it into the water below. "You just threw your beeper into the Pacific."  
  
A fragment of a smile accompanied with a sobbed laugh. "I know."  
  
***  
  
"You're friend, he died in Morocco. You had his blood on your hands. That's why you called and you were crying. I remember it was the first time I saw you, the real you. I saw the vulnerable Sydney. And from then on, everything was different."  
  
"Oh my God Vaughn." Sydney pulled him into a hug. "What else do you remember." She said into his shoulder.  
  
Vaughn lingered in the hug, enjoying the feel of her silky hair and the smoothness of her skin. "That's all I remember. I'm sorry."  
  
"No, don't be sorry! We're making progress. Wow." Sydney was stunned. She hadn't expected his memory to come back that soon. She also was processing the fact that she was the reason that Vaughn and Alice had broken up. In a way she felt sorry for her. She could only imagine what it felt like, having your boyfriend being called off at all hours of the night to listen to some girl who you had no idea of. Her heart really went out to her. Then again, she remembered how much of a normal life Alice must have. By now she probably had another boyfriend, a normal job, and a normal existence. And all of Sydney's guilt for Alice disappeared.  
  
"This is one of my favorite places you know. Or, well you used to know anyway." Vaughn listened to Sydney talk. "That's why I came here that night. My father stood me up for dinner, so I came here to my special place. I always feel so normal here. And then that night when you came, you were such a comfort to me. I felt that as long as I had you on my side that I could do anything I wanted. Taking down SD-6 was just a matter of time as long as you were with me. I guess that's why I brought you here tonight." She looked at the moon longingly. "After that night you became so much more than a handler to me. You became a friend. You were my best friend."  
  
"I still am Sydney. I'm still that same guy. I just need time, time to remember and get my memory back. To push the ghosts of my mind and take control of my life again. But no matter what, I'm still here for you, I'll always be here for you." Vaughn looked at Sydney who's body seemed to be glowing in the moonlight and he knew that he would never see any woman look as beautiful as Sydney looked right at this moment. Although her eyes were puffy with tears from his speech and she looked tired, he knew. He just knew that she was it. He was in love with Sydney and wanted to be with her more than anything.  
  
"Thank you." Vaughn reached out and grabbed her hand. "Come on, we should be getting back home. It's late."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Ok, I'm a little unsure of how this chapter was, so you guys need to let me know. Was it too corny? not corny enough? Too stupid? Let me know, because I'm using all your feedback to write these chapters. Let me know what you like and what you don't like about it and I'll do my best to accommodate. I love the feedback, so please don't stop leaving it! :D  
  
It might be a few days before I can get the next chapter up, I'm working A LOT the next few days and won't be home much at all to write. But I'll update as soon as I can, I promise! 


	11. The reasons why

The both of them reached Vaughn's house and Sydney had immediately say her good-night to Vaughn and went straight to bed. He could tell she was extremely exhausted. She told him in the car that she was going on around 3 hours sleep in well over 48 hours, so he understood when she wanted to just curl up in bed and crash.  
  
Vaughn couldn't sleep however. He tossed and turned, his mind returning back to his memories, the only memories he had at the moment. He wanted to badly to remember his friends, his family, Sydney. He felt like his mind had a brick wall in it. A wall that was holding his entire memories captive and if he could only break through he could regain his life once again. He was so frustrated that he hadn't realized he had his fists clenched around the sheets.  
  
"Water" he sighed as he got out of bed and was about to make his way to the kitchen. He exited his room, but stopped in the hallway, looking at the door to Sydney's room. He gave into temptation and opened the door marginally to take a peek at Sydney. He had known Sydney only a day and he was already completely in love with her, he wondered how he contained himself knowing her for a whole year previously.  
  
All he wanted was to curl up next to her and feel her warmth next to him the rest of the night. To have her kiss him for him to explore her body would be heaven on earth for him. Vaughn let out a deep breath, closing the door to his sleeping beauty and walked the rest of the way to the kitchen. "Screw the glass of cold water, I need a cold shower now." He smirked to himself.  
  
Going back to bed, he did feel better and eventually sleep captured Vaughn. The rest of the night passed quietly until the sun rose and greeted them into a new day. Vaughn was the first to wake up, getting dressed in a worn pair of jeans and a shirt which he could only describe as the most comfortable article of clothing ever. Knowing that Sydney would still be sleeping due to her exhaustion he moseyed himself in the kitchen to prepare breakfast.  
  
"Sydney. Sydney."  
  
"Saturday, no school." She murmured into the pillow.  
  
"Actually, it's Tuesday and you're on break from classes...you told me so yourself." He said as she began to open her eyes. "Good morning"  
  
"Mmm.. morning. Sorry, I had the weirdest dream that I was still a teenager and in high school." She stopped and sniffed the air. "Is that deliciousness aroma the scent of breakfast?"  
  
"That it is. Now hurry up and eat it or else it'll be cold."  
  
"Ok, give me two minutes to get dressed and I'll be out." He nodded his head with a smile and left the room, closing the door behind him. Sydney noted to herself how different he seemed. It seemed so relaxed and comfortable. If she weren't careful, she would start to feel as if they were a normal couple.  
  
"Syd, you look beautiful." He said, standing stunned as she walked into the kitchen.  
  
Sydney looked at herself "In jeans and a tank top?" She brushed it off and accepted the unexpected compliment. "Thank you. You look nice too." What she wouldn't give to go over there and kiss him. She could never get tired of hearing him compliment her. "I didn't know you could cook."  
  
"Yeah, neither did I until I just started cooking. It came so naturally, I guess I used to do this a lot."  
  
"What? Cook breakfast for your female friends in the morning?" She joked, yet couldn't help the jealous feeling that rose in the pit of her stomach.  
  
Vaughn didn't give an answer, because he didn't really know how to answer it. He didn't remember if he usually had female partners for breakfast. He didn't know if he used to go to bed every night thinking of Sydney, as he did last night. He sort of shrugged it off and the two of them enjoyed their first breakfast together.  
  
A few hours later, Vaughn had his head and his hands up in one of his closets. "Ok, the only thing I'm seeing is Twister." He lied. He couldn't resist the chance to have both their bodies tangled up in one another in a seemingly innocent game.  
  
"Twister will have to do then." Sydney answered him.  
  
"Have you ever played Twister?"  
  
"Yeah, of course I have, lots of times." It used to be one of her favorite games to play, she loved the challenge of staying up.  
  
He laughed. "No, I meant have you ever played this game with me. Did we ever hang out one time and play it?"  
  
She looked at him somberly. "Vaughn, the closest thing we've ever done together for fun was break into the Vatican. That was pretty entertaining."  
  
"I broke into the Vatican!?" He couldn't believe he would do such a horrible thing towards his religion.  
  
Now it was Sydney's turn to laugh. "Yes we did. I remember you're exact words. 'Yes, I'll break into the Vatican with you.' We did it for a mission, to help. We gave everything we took back, don't worry. I'm sure the angels are up in heaven right now polishing you're halo, you'll get your angel status, don't worry."  
  
***  
  
"My guardian angel."  
  
"I was going to say the same thing to you, thanks for the promotion."  
  
***  
  
"Guardian angel. you're my guardian angel." Vaughn recited slowly.  
  
"Gee thanks." She said, not knowing he had just had another flashback.  
  
"No, I remember. I was talking to you by satellite, you were in some stadium, you called me you're guardian angel, and I called you it back because you gave me a promotion.  
  
She smiled. "This is wonderful! I'm so happy for you. Is anything else coming to you?"  
  
He thought for a moment. "No, I just remember that."  
  
"No matter, we're making progress. This is a good thing! No, it's a great thing!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly before moving her head and looking into his eyes. They remained with their eyes locked on each other, lips just millimeters apart before Sydney backed away and smoothed out her shirt. "Vaughn. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so close."  
  
"Don't be sorry. Sydney, why can't we? I mean, I know there are a million protocol reasons why, but take a chance. We could be missing out on something great by just accepting this 'friends' thing.  
  
"There are a million reasons, but the biggest being you. Vaughn, I can't lose you again. I can't lose you, I just can't. If something happened between us, and SD-6 found out, they would have you killed before we could blink. You're too important to me." She looked at his face that had gone from hopeful to mournful. "Hey, all we need to do is get SD-6 out of the way. We take then down and the world is ours. I'll be out of the spy business forever and I can begin my life. with you." He looked at her and when she looked into his beautiful eyes, all the reasons why they were apart once again flew out of her head.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Kind of a weird chapter, I know. I'm writing this after working 10 hours today, so. Next chapter will be the Twister game, and I promise, I'll be making some nice progress in that chapter. I hope you all are enjoying this fic, I really do. Please tell me if you think it stinks or I'm doing a horrible job, and I'll try to fix the direction I'm going in. So let me know about stuff you like and don't like, I love reading the reviews, keep it up, pretty pretty please ;) 


	12. Last chance

Quick note: I decided to not go with the Twister game after all, because. well I lost my focus on where I wanted to go, and when I figured out how I wanted the story to progress. I just didn't see how I could successfully do a game of Twister without having you all laugh at the bad-cornyness of it. Sorry if I'm disappointing some of you, but hopefully this chapter will do this fic some justice. ok, so that wasn't such a quick note after all.  
  
KHBAJN: Yes, I am naturally hard on myself, you should see me in school when I get a C on a test! Hehe  
  
VaughnsAngel: Aww, thanks so much, I'm glad you like this fic that much, it means a lot to me!! ****************  
  
The following days were a blur to both Sydney and Vaughn. They went about the day acting as most best friends do, watching movies, comparing screwed up childhoods, and then there was Sydney's stories of Vaughn's life, parts of his life he still hadn't remembered. Sydney had called into work a few times to catch up on what was going on. Piece by piece Vaughn was remembering more and more. Yet the more he got to know Sydney the more he knew he was completely smitten with her, and vice versa. For Sydney, spending all this time with Vaughn was like getting to know a different side of him. With a complete recovery in sight for him, she felt so comfortable and loved when she was with him.  
  
More than a few times they had come inches apart from kissing, but each time Sydney remained control of herself. Apologizing, she always quickly escaped the scene. But when she was alone with her thoughts, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she caved and let down her defenses. As the days dwindled to a closing point, so did her inner brick wall.  
  
Tonight would be their last night together. Tomorrow the two weeks would be up, Sydney would go back to her chains and irons that awaited her at SD-6 and Vaughn's mother would be flying in to take care of him until he completely recovered.  
  
Sydney dolled herself up and dressed in one of her favorite little red numbers. She didn't know, but if anything were to unintentionally happen tonight, she at least wanted to look nice instead of like a couch potato.  
  
"Wow. you look.I mean, wow. I do believe that 'you look great' is far below an understatement. You look spectacular." Sydney's face crushed to a crimson red at Michael Vaughn's stuttered compliment. "I'm feeling really under-dressed tonight. Did I miss the memo?" He checked himself out in his blue jeans and an old college tee shirt.  
  
She laughed nervously, thinking that maybe it was a stupid idea to get so dressed up for no reason. 'But there is a reason Sydney, this is your last night, your last chance.' She mentally kicked herself for admitting that she wanted something more to come from these two weeks. "No, no reason. I just, felt like being a real girl tonight."  
  
"Well then, why don't we ixnay on the take-out and go to a real restaurant, celebrate two weeks of surviving each other." Vaughn suggested in a joking manner.  
  
Sydney's face fell. "Vaughn, you know we can't do that. I mean, we need to keep public appearances at a minimum. We've been out enough and luckily haven't gotten caught yet." She looked into his disappointed eyes "I'm sorry."  
  
Later that evening after the Chinese take-out cartons had been thrown away and the table was cleaned Vaughn walked over to the stereo. He had been waiting to do this for 13 days. He knew of Sydney's avoidance to any romantic encounters and didn't want to feel like an ass if rejection were to occur. "Now or never" he breathed to himself. He turned the dial, trying to find the right tune before turning up the volume and extending his hand.  
  
"Would you like to dance?"  
  
"Right here in the living room?" Sydney raised an eyebrow.  
  
He nodded "Of course, right here smack dab in the middle of the room." He extended his hand again in an exaggerated gesture.  
  
Sydney smiled and gently bit her lower lip, placing her small hand into his bigger one where he proceeded to gently pull her up from her seat on the sofa, lightly brushing his thumb over the top of her hand.  
  
Reaching up, she enveloped her arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist, both of them enjoying the closeness that dancing brought.  
  
Sydney found herself playing with the hair at the back of his neck while concentrating on not kissing it as well. Both of their hips absentmindedly swayed together in perfect motion to the soft music.  
  
Vaughn was mentally registering that his hands were only a thin fabric away from Sydney's bare skin. He felt Sydney's warm hands on his neck and he knew that such light touches shouldn't be affecting him as much as they were.  
  
The music played on as their two bodies danced slowly around the room. A bomb could have exploded outside and the two of them would have been too wrapped up in each other to notice. It was then that the moment they both dreaded arrived, it was now that they would have to decide whether to leap or to stay on firm safe ground.  
  
It was then that the music ended.  
  
A/N: Hehe. yeah, I know this chapter took like eons. I've been so busy with work and trying to enjoy what's left of summer that I've been neglecting this fic. Not to mention that I really didn't like the boring direction I thought this fic was going in the last few chapters, but I hope that this chapter was better and I like it, so I hope you will too. With any luck, I should have the next chapter out soon.  
  
To all my faithful reviewers: You guys rock! And without all your reviews, I probably would have given up on this fic already, so its because of you that I keep writing, so don't reviewing! And I just hope you guys like this fic. 


	13. Checkmate

KHBAJN: Thank you! I like the direction I took too ;) You know, I was going to write the next chapter for a couple more days or so, but after reading your awesome review, I had to write more, thanks so much!  
  
Jacey: Thanks hun, I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
And to everyone else: Honestly, your reviews are great, and thankfully I don't have to work tomorrow so I can stay up late and write! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as you've liked the last one!  
  
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The music slowly faded on the speakers as a new song came on, a faster, upbeat one. A fast pace beat that was matching the rhythm of both Sydney and Vaughn's racing heartbeats. "Uh.. thanks for the dance" Vaughn nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  
  
He was waiting for Sydney to make the next move. He had checked her with the dance, now it was time to see if she were going to forfeit the game or declare checkmate.  
  
To what seemed like an eternity to both of them was in actuality only a few minutes. And that's when the background began to become fuzzy and disfigured. Sydney took advantage of their closeness and ended the gap that existed between their lips. Their lips danced in a perfect harmony just as their bodies moments ago had.  
  
Sydney's arms once again reached around Vaughn's neck, only this time she no longer focused on her yearning, but was content on the pleasant bliss that Vaughn's kiss brought her. Vaughn's hands reached up and were gently cradling Sydney's face, occasionally allowing a hand to gracefully comb through her silky, sweet smelling hair.  
  
Both of them eventually realized they needed to break apart, if for nothing else than the need for oxygen. Vaughn felt as if his lips were on fire. He could still feel the heat that their kiss had initiated. One thing was for sure, he had never had a kiss quite like that before and doubted that anyone in the world could make him feel like that besides Sydney.  
  
"Syd.I thought you said that you--"  
  
"I lied."  
  
"Well in that case." This time it was Vaughn's turn to initiate the kiss. This kiss was much sweeter and more natural. Their lips now were familiar with each other, they were made to be pressed together. Minutes passed before they stopped once again. "I'll be right back, stay here." Vaughn ordered, leaving the living room to enter the kitchen. He came back out a few minutes later with a blanket, a bottle of wine, and two glasses. "Come on, I want to show you something."  
  
Sydney followed eagerly, but not without a few "Where are we going?" and "You're insane" quips as he led her up the stairs to the second level. There was a room that held a pool table and an air hockey table. Sydney had gone a few rounds by herself with the air hockey game one night when she couldn't sleep. What she didn't realize was what was beyond the room.  
  
There was a door that was mostly hidden by the curves of the room, and since Sydney had only been in this room in the late hours of the night, with the sparse lighting the room had, she had missed it. "I didn't know there was a door here!" She exclaimed, excited about the new discovery.  
  
"Yeah, neither did I until I came up here yesterday and found it." He opened the door and gestured for her to go through. "Go look."  
  
"Ooo" She couldn't believe her eyes. The door opened up to a spacious porch upper-level porch that was surprisingly spacious with a lovely view of his neighborhood and in the distance you could see a lake. "This is really pretty."  
  
Laying the blanket down, he poured the wine into both glasses. "White Zinfandel, one of my favorites." Sydney took a seat along with Vaughn and toasted.  
  
"To the future." He said, which was repeated by her.  
  
"You know what we could use?"  
  
Vaughn stopped sipping his wine. "What?"  
  
Sydney cocked an eyebrow "That carton of brownie fudge ice cream I bought the other day."  
  
"You want ice cream? With wine?" Vaughn couldn't help but laugh at the odd combination.  
  
Sydney continued her smirk, obviously in a deep mood for ice cream. "You stay here, I'll go get it."  
  
But Vaughn stopped her. "No, you stay put, I'll go quickly grab it." Vaughn got up and made his way to the freezer.  
  
Sydney sat there alone, gently brushing her fingertips along her lips, remembering what it felt like to have Vaughn's lips crushed against her own. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud clash downstairs. "Vaughn?" Sydney yelled. "Are you ok? Did you drop the silverware drawer again? I told you not to pull it out so far." She screamed into the opened doorframe.  
  
The minutes passed and passed yet still Sydney didn't hear his footsteps coming up the stairs. "Only he could hurt himself getting a carton of ice cream from the freezer." She sighed and giggled to herself. She was amazed at how happy she was. She hadn't smiled like this in years, it felt good to smile.  
  
She walked down the hallways languidly, teasing him with each step. "Vaughn. what did you do, go milk the cows to go get the ice cream? Vaughn." She reached the bottom step and made her way into the kitchen, still not hearing any noises. "Vaughn.Vaughn!" Her eyes searched but didn't find him. No, Vaughn was not in the kitchen, the kitchen floor was covered in broken glass near where the door was, the freezer door had been left wide open. But it wasn't until Sydney saw the spots and the puddles of blood on the floor that she gasped in horror as fresh hot tears ran down her cheeks. How quickly bliss had turn into sorrow.  
  
**************** A/N: I'm sorry.did you think I was going to keep this fic fluffy and light? Hehe.. actually I did too until this idea struck me. I was going to end this fic within a chapter or so. I mean, they're together, what else can you do with that without boringness ensuing. And I've never actually written an action/suspense fic before. so I guess it'll be an adventure for all of us ;) Just remember.reviews make me write faster. 


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